The object of the invention is a device for transferring cylindrical filter segments from a filter segment hopper onto a grouping belt in the process of manufacturing multi-segment filter rods for cigarettes.
In the tobacco industry, there is a demand for multi-segment filter rods used for the manufacture of cigarettes which are composed of at least two kinds of segments made of different filter materials; such segments can be soft, filled for example with unwoven cloth, paper, cellulose acetate, or hard, filled with granulate or sintered elements, or hollow cylinders, where multi-segment filter rods can comprise segments made of hard material which is not suitable for cutting in devices used in the production line of the tobacco industry. From the European patent no. EP 2.210.509 A1 an apparatus and a method for combining, in a linear method, of two or more different segments in the process of manufacturing smoking articles from which at least one is not intended for cutting in the filter manufacturing process are known. Each kind of segments is transferred from the corresponding hopper onto a linear conveyor on which the transferred segments are arranged in such position that their axes correspond with the direction of motion of the conveyor, and then by means of an index wheel with the axis of rotation perpendicular to the plane of motion of the linear conveyor are positioned on the grouping belt. The formed sequence of segments, after wrapping in wrapper paper, is then divided into filters used for cigarette manufacturing. A similar principle of transferring segments linearly from the hopper onto the grouping tape, where their axes are positioned along the direction of motion of the conveyor, is used in the European patent. EP 2.230.951 A1, however, in this solution positioning of segments on the grouping tape is carried out by means of an index wheel with the axis of rotation parallel to the plane of motion of the linear conveyor. On the other hand, in the European patent no. EP 1.833.723 B1 a system for transferring segments from hoppers in a crosswise method was presented. Segments of each kind are transported from the hopper by means of appropriately matched drums and after combining in groups of segments, then wrapping in tissue paper, are transferred onto a belt conveyor in crosswise arrangement relative to the direction of motion of the conveyor. A similar system for transferring segments from the hopper by means of a set of drums onto a linear conveyor, provided with crosswise flutes in which the segments are combined in a filter rod, was presented as an option in the European patent no. EP 1.427.299 B1 (FIG. 11, FIG. 12a, FIG. 12b, FIG. 13a and FIG. 13b of the drawing).